Architects Masayuki Sono and Ostap Rudakevych of Clouds Architecture Office say their Comet Runner concept includes the idea that astronauts would harvest surface dust as 3D printing media to create temporary surface dwellings on comets. The idea was inspired by the Rosetta Mission from the European Space Agency which sought to land a vehicle on the surface of the Churyumov-Gerasimenko comet, and it's not without precedent. The London architectural firm Foster + Partners has worked with the ESA to consider whether it might be possible to build structures on the surface of the moon using 3D printing and lunar dust. You can read the whole story here: http://3dprint.com/42389/3d-printing-on-comets/


Below is a rendering of how the Clouds Architecture Office team envision the comet-trailing space station: